Chapter 24...

It was the middle of the night, the two groups were bedding down. Eventually they came to a conclusion, and were going to see if they could apprehend the assassins that were targeting Treya. Natsu, unable to sleep, was keeping an eye out for any suspicious activity. Granted, his hearing was shot, but he could still smell anyone that was not among them. He just sat at the entrance of their camp, and kept an ever watchful eye. He wasn't really concerned about an ambush at this point. If those guys were going to try something, it would be at day. If they were out there, he'd sense their presence before they even got within a hundred feet of the camp.

While he was minding his own, he felt a tap on the shoulder. He turned to the blank stare of Eclair.

"Couldn't sleep?" Natsu asked curiously.

"..." She nodded.

"Yeah, me either. Lots of stuff happened today. Wasn't sure how it was gonna go during that ambush. Until Mero heals my hearing, I'm going to be a bit useless to you for a bit." He sighed. "Really sucks to not being able to hear that well, but at the same time, I don't need to be worrying about the constant sound of chirping at night." He chuckled a little at the last bit.

"..." She suddenly sat down next to him on a rock and wrapped her arms around her legs. She then took a stick that was next to them and slowly drew in a circle on the ground. Natsu was curious why she joined him. If anything, he figured she wanted to get an early start tomorrow. "..are you going to stay up?" She asked.

"Hm?" Natsu raised his brow.

"Oh, right." She suddenly drew what she asked, and Natsu turned to her with a blank look.

"..mm, probably." Natsu shrugged. "I just...wanted to think a bit about what I planned to do after I helped you." He shrugged.

"..?" Eclair made inquisitive look.

"Well, I really had no purpose until you found me napping in the middle of that Inn. And I've been having a blast since I crossed paths with you." He chuckled at how humorous their adventure has been so far. "But once we find the other half of that phoenix stone..well, I hadn't really thought about it." He sighed. "I've been from one side of this continent to the other, and haven't so much as found a clue as to what I've been looking for." He told her as he leaned his chin onto his hand.

"..." Eclair blinked and wrote the word 'Dragon' on the ground.

"Y-yeah...oh yeah, you saw my memories, didn't ya?" Natsu wasn't quite sure at what point in time he told Eclair what he was doing before they met up, but then he remembered that she had the ability to look into the past of individuals. "Then...you also know why." He frowned and looked away.

"Mm." Eclair nodded. She then suddenly tapped his shoulder. He looked at the ground and she wrote the following.

"ArE yOU OkAY WitH ThiS?"

"What? Traveling with you?" He asked curiously. The brunette nodded, with a stoic look of her own. "Why wouldn't I be?" He furrowed his expression, confused why she would ask such a thing.

"YoU AlmoSt DIed, twice."

"It was a few close brushes, but nothing I ain't used to." Natsu shrugged.

"...I don't know how you can say that when you're the one who keeps getting hurt." She uttered.

"Hm?" Natsu heard a humming in his ears, just like if someone was mumbling.

"Nothing." She shook her head.

"..have I been...helpful?" He suddenly asked. Eclair made a surprised look.

"Yes..! You-you've gone above and beyond to keep me safe. If anything, I thought I might have been giving you reasons to leave." She frowned.

"...judging from your expression, I assume that's a yes." He smiled. She hesitantly nodded.

"...good. very good then." Natsu nodded and had a sigh of relief. Eclair just looked at him with a bit of pity. She saw much more than she had let on. In fact, in those few moments that her mind connected with him, it was like she had got to know him his whole life. The only difference was she was never there. In fact, their situations might have not been that different. She had forgotten where her home was, and he had no home to go back to. Despite her coldness, over the time they spent together, on this journey, she had grown rather reliant on him. It was like...a warm feeling she had never had before. She recalled the time he had comforted Mero, showing he'd be there for her when she was down in the dumps. The time also with Treya, despite denying her advances on him, he still stuck up for her, when that Gajeel person insulted her.

He also kept her safe from that strange assassin that attacked them in the middle of the night. That must of been when it started. Being independent was what her strong point was, but there are times where the limits of that were shown. It was probably the first time she depended on someone. As their journey progressed she noticed that the interactions with Treya, Mero and herself were a lot different. If anything, it seemed that he just wanted to prove to her he could be reliable, and supportive when he needed.

"Hey, Natsu?" Eclair asked as her eyes were covered in shadow.

"..?" Natsu turned to see what else she was going to say.

"..." She was a little pink around her cheeks and began writing on the ground. Each stroke of her stick took it's time as she wrote it for him to see. When she finished, Natsu's eye widened. He then looked at her, and she looked at him with expectant eyes. Natsu then smiled warmly.

"I thought we were." Natsu replied, knowing what she wanted to ask. Eclair's eyes were half way open, and a soft, surprised expression made it's way to her face. She suddenly turned away and smiled slightly.

"I-I said it!...I...it feels good." She thought. After hearing him confirming what she asked, she felt like things would be..different. She stood up and began heading back to her sleeping mat. She gripped her arm and a smile, indicating she was in a good mood, was unnoticed. She felt like she could sleep a lot better now.

"...teh." Natsu chuckled as he looked at the thing she wrote. "Until my dying day." Natsu uttered to himself.

"CAN WE BE FRIENDS?"

The next morning...

Natsu yawned as he fell asleep against the tree that was next to the area he was sitting. He snorted, and grunted, trying to wake himself up. He then suddenly felt someone grab his arm firmly. He took it as a threat, and he immediately grabbed their wrist and was going to break it, if the first thing his eye saw was anything resembling a ninja garb. When his blood red eye opened, it was met with the baffled, pink haired girl, struggling to get her wrist free from him.

"EEEtatatatatata! OW! I give, I give, I give, I GIVE!" She submitted faster, feeling like he was gonna crush her wrist.

"Hu-? Oh, sorry!" He quickly released Meredy's hand and apologized.

"That was close~! I thought you were gonna take my arm off!" She complained.

"Sorry about that. I'm not used to people grabbing my arm first thing in the morning." Natsu apologized again and explained his reason. "And I can't hear anything, so I gotta rely on my other senses." He shrugged.

"It's fin-ow, we're good." She slowly flexed her hand to get the blood flowing. "Geez, you one of those people that sleep with one eye open?" She asked.

"...huh?" Natsu didn't quite understand what she was trying to say.

"Ah, right." She picked up the magic sketch pad that Mero lent her, and wrote down her words.

"ARE YOU NORMALLY THIS HIGH STRUNG?"

"Only when there are bad guys involved. But in this particular case, they aren't gunnin' for me this time. So...this is pretty much me on a good day." Natsu shrugged.

"This dark wizard...I don't know whether to pity him, or be afraid." Meredy had a bead of sweat rolling down her head, while she sheepishly smiled.

"So, is everyone up?" Natsu asked her. Meredy nodded and led him to where the group was.

"The tricky part would be to get them reveal themselves. These men are notorious for striking their targets after they isolate them." Treya stated as her arm was under her large bust, and her other on her chin. "Once they think they have the upper hand, we take them down."

"Are you saying you should go it alone, then?" Jellal narrowed his eyes. "I could not allow that. If you get cornered, you'd just become victim to that strange whistle they used. Plus, it would be very dangerous to capture them that way."

"I'm speaking from past experience. I am far more familiar with their tactics than anyone here. If you want to catch them, they would rather cut their losses before being taken in." Treya then crossed her arms and stared at him. "Meaning, they'd sooner flee before being put into a position to be captured. Or take their own lives." She explained to the blue haired mage. Eclair was leaning next to a large boulder with Ultear, while the two listened. Blank stares was all they could make, for their comrades were having a bit of a difficulty settling on a plan of action.

"(Yawn). How long have they been talking?" Ultear asked tiredly as she stretched.

"Too long." Eclair replied in a bored fashion.

"Why is it so hard to just use her as bait?" Eclair sighed in frustration.

"Jellal wants to catch them. He doesn't want them dead. We've been chasing them, and were hoping to get some info out of them, but if they die, there would have been no point. He's trying to avoid that." Ultear explained.

"Info?" Eclair turned to Ultear.

"Yeah. If this can end without bloodshed, I'm more than happy to try and make it work. But these men have proven to be rather difficult." Ultear nodded.

"The point is to capture them!" Jellal slammed his fist down on their makeshift table, rattling it a bit. "Even if there is some risk involved, subduing them is more preferable."

"Capturing them is not an option. If you think locking these men up in a cell is going to do more good than harm, you are a fool." Treya leaned on the table and slowly glared at Jellal.

"Bloody Jewel, we had agreed to work together to stop these men. Are you going back on your words?" Jellal countered.

"I only agreed to be a decoy. I am not taking orders from you. If anything, this would have been solved if you hadn't gotten in the way before." Treya scoff in annoyance. "If they want a fight to the death, I will give them that." Treya firmly put.

"I cannot allow you to-"

"Morning guys." Natsu came in and broke up the heated discussion with a tired greeting. "I miss anything?" Natsu asked the group.

"My mate." Treya walked over and greeted. Meredy was right behind Natsu, and had the pad taken from her by Treya.

"HOW IS YOUR HEARING?"

Natsu read the question and answered accordingly.

"I know when there is a noise, I just don't know what it is. Kinda like a constant hum when you talk." Natsu shrugged. Natsu's eye shifted to Jellal who seemed to be sporting a nasty look at them. "That's a look you shoot towards the bad guys. Is something wrong?" Natsu asked Jellal.

"...ask her." Jellal looked away in a bitter fashion. "This is not going to work, if she doesn't follow the plan." Jellal sighed. Meredy was kind enough to translate for Natsu as he read the sentence. He then looked to Treya.

"Something wrong?" Natsu asked in a gentle tone. Treya once again took the pad and relayed her thoughts.

"I CANNOT GO THROUGH WITH THIS. THIS MAN WANTS TO CAPTURE THEM. AND IS PREVENTING ME FROM TAKING ANY LETHAL ACTION."

"...Jellal, you know that, that is a lot more risky than straight out killing them, right?" Natsu asked Jellal. "Fighting them off is one thing, but if you wanna catch them, you put everyone at risk with that approach. You know that, right?" Natsu questioned him.

"I know that. Which is why I was against involving other people in this." Jellal told Natsu in a frustrated manner. Meredy wrote it down and showed Natsu.

"We're involved whether you like it or not. They're coming after our group, which means means we will defend ourselves, even if we have to kill the sons of bitches ourselves." Natsu replied sternly. "But there must be a reason why you are so insistent on taking them alive. So why?" Natsu crossed his arms and demanded.

"I need...to get vital information from them." Jellal reluctantly said.

"You failed to mention that." Natsu replied after reading his response.

"I wasn't sure if I could trust you. Even now I am having my doubts." Jellal clenched his fists,

"What information?" Natsu sounded interested.

"That's not relevant at the moment. Once we capture them, then we will go our separate ways."

"I disagree. If it's about something they would only know, then we would need to target a specific member of the group." Treya voiced. "The rest are expendable. There was no one important among them-?!" Treya suddenly silently gasped in realization.

"..." Jellal lowered his head.

"...you want their guild master." Treya suddenly said. Ultear and Meredy were surprised at her answer. Eclair just blinked.

"...come again?" Natsu turned to Meredy. Meredy frowned but wrote for him anyway.

"WE ARE AFTER THE GUILD MASTER. WE HAVE REASON TO BELIEVE THAT HE'S PLANNING ON ACQUIRING A MAGIC ITEM THAT COULD KILL THOUSANDS OF PEOPLE . AND WE WANNA PUT A STOP TO IT."

"...after investigating a lead we found near Black Rift, we learned that Shadow Grave had decided to rebuild itself. So they decided to bring their assassination guild further within Ishgar. Our contact told us that they were going to obtain something that would enable them to use a large-scale magic item that could kill an entire town." Jellal sighed after going over the details. "So we're trying to track him down, hoping to stop him before he gets to where ever he's going. We heard the Bloody Jewel had betrayed them in the past, so we decided to just follow her, thinking they would want to come back and get revenge." He confessed.

"I, did not betray them, THEY double crossed me, and they payed with their worthless hides." Treya hissed at his version of her story.

"You were following us?" Eclair was narrowing her eyes.

"Ever since word got around about the Bloody Jewel tangling with the One-Eyed Dragon, we knew it was the perfect time to follow you. After that whole thing with the ruin site, we decided to hang back until you returned. Sorry." Ultear explained and then apologized.

"..and you never thought to warn us?" Eclair deadpanned.

"Well, it seemed to be much easier to just let them think they had you, then we would have intervened. Clearly that did not work out as well as we imagined." Ultear sweat dropped. "By the way, where is that girl and talking bird at?" Ultear seemed to notice their absence.

"She wanted to go check out the ruins that Kai'zin left for her. She said she'd be back in a flash. Momon went with her because she dragged him along." Eclair shrugged.

"Kai-zin?" Ultear raised her brow curiously.

"It's the dragon that was worshiped at that temple. After they beat it, it was nice enough to give Mero ownership of the temple." Eclair shortened it.

"...wai-a DRAGON, was making that ruckus a few days ago?!" Ultear was baffled.

"Yeah. The entire area was destroyed, but the temple rose up into the sky." She concluded.

"But that's-!? Wow..." Ultear didn't even know where to begin to ask her questions.

"If it's Qwayleen you want, her men won't fork over her location. They've been trained to kill themselves before divulging information, if it came down to it. I've seen the methods they used during my contract with them. They'd sooner kill themselves before handing over their master. And even if they escaped, they had to complete their mission, and kill anyone who may have identified their members. Otherwise Qwayleen would kill them herself." Treya scoffed.

"Her?" Jellal and Ultear sounder interested.

"Mm. Qwayleen was once a...associate from long ago. But her methods were dubbed too...drastic." Treya bobbed her head slightly. She removed a locket of hair from her view crossed her arms and legs while leaning back against a tree.

"You know who the guild master is?!" Meredy was surprised. "We thought it was a man!" She was baffled at this new info.

"I don't think she would let slip, something as important as a mass murdering, magic tool, enter the ears of people that easily." Treya closed one of her grey eyes while looking toward Meredy."Something like vengeance, doesn't fit in her character either. Granted she might kill me on site, but she'd do it herself, then risk those pathetic worms screwing up the kill." Treya explained. "You probably are after her second, Gilmar. He set the trap for me when they tried to kill me. His body wasn't among the one's I had slain." She put a hand to her chin. "He probably wanted to kill me, to get back in favor of Qwayleen."

"Are you saying the person we're after is the second to the guild master?" Jellal seemed to be interested in this new information.

"It fits his profile. He's arrogant, ambitious, and will accomplish his goal, no matter the cost." Treya sighed.

"...uh huh. Thanks." Natsu read the text that Meredy wrote and thanked her. "So, if I got this right...your target wants to have the capability to wipe out thousands of people, the question is: what magic tool exists, that could do that?" He asked them all. "And if this guy is as dangerous as you all claim, why would he send out a two bit assassin group to take out Treya?" Natsu crossed his arms. "There doesn't really seem any gain to kill her now." Natsu put a thinking face on as he thought about it.

"Not them anyway." Eclair turned and deadpanned.

"I'll kill you, bitch." Treya responded in equal fashion.

"Are you sure you two are comrades?" Ultear sweat dropped. "And, two-bit? They seemed to be well coordinated. Enough so to render a dragon slayer helpless, for a few moments." Ultear walked over and said as she motioned Meredy to write down what she said. "Not that I don't think you were incapable of defeating them, but from our perspective it seemed to catch you off guard." Ultear pointed out their brief encounter.

"I could have killed those pricks in the blink of an eye. Granted, it was irritating as hell, but once that flute was taken care of...? Wait a minute..." Natsu suddenly turned to Meredy. "You have the whistle, right?" He quickly asked. Meredy nodded and handed it over to him. Natsu examined it once more, he suddenly smiled.

"What is it?" Eclair came over and looked over his shoulder.

"Their sloppy. They bought this tool, instead of having it custom made." Natsu deduced as he pointed out the symbol.

"...I see where you're going with this!" Meredy lit up with enthusiasm.

"We find the person who sold it, we can identify the culprits." Jellal pieced together quickly. "...if that is the case, we need to find out who is the manufacturer. Leave it in our possession, we'll investigate the lead-"

(VSHHHHOOOM))

"..!?"

"What the-?"

"Hm?" Every turned to the strange, distorted jet-like sound, and their eyes landed upon Mero, who was crouching, after landing from the sky.

"Whoo, what a rush~!" Mero smiled with a happy air about her. "Morning, everyone!" Mero greeted happily. Momon was holding onto her back and greeted with wave of his tiny winged hand.

"Good morning." Momon said.

"...that was quick." Treya deadpanned. "How fast did you fly?" Treya was bewildered by Mero's max speed when she zipped around.

"It's my light form! Mero can traverse long distances in just seconds! Especially at night!" Mero happily walked in on the group.

"We're at least ten miles from there...you flew ALL the way there?!" Meredy was surprised."You were gone for like fifteen minutes!" She recalled.

"I just needed one." Mero shrugged as if it were no big deal."Oh yeah, I found something out while I was there!" She snapped her fingers in remembrance. "Kai'zin left all sorts of cool things lying around, but when I came to check on his sarcophagus, this lacrima vision appeared of Kai'zin. And it was interactive!" She raised her hands excitedly. "It was like an encyclopedia of him, his knowledge, and everything he ever did!" She explained, not wasting a moment.

"Interactive? Some type of archive perhaps?" Ultear thought out loud.

"And the first thing I asked it, was how to using healing spells for light based dragons!" Mero raised her finger. " And I hit the motherlode! It gave me the knowledge I needed to heal Natsu!" She pointed to Natsu.

"What?!"

"Really?" Treya and Eclair exclaimed.

"Yep! Natsu, come with me! I can't wait to try this out!"

"Huh? What now?"Mero tugged and pulled his hand to follow her out to a more secluded area. He had no idea what was going on, but he figured he'd get an explanation along the way. She suddenly stopped and turned.

"Oh, I thought about our encounter with those weird bad guys, and I think that magic tool belongs to a vendor I've come across before at...oh, what was that place called...c'mon it was fresh in hea-SEAPARA! Yeah, Seapara! There's a women-only guild called Mermaid Heel that has a small shack built there to service people by the beach! I bet if we tried there, we could find who owns that logo, and who he sold it too!" She quickly explained before walking away. "Just a thought~!"

"..."

"..."

"..."

"..."

"..."

"..."

...

There was an awkward silence after she left. Mero kind of just broke the atmosphere, leaving everyone trying to comprehend what she quickly said before hauling Natsu off to help him.

"S-she's pretty energetic." Meredy sweat dropped.

"..." Jellal just stayed silent.

"For a runt, she's surprisingly useful." Treya had to admit. She aired out her chest a bit and regained her composure. "Well, if she says that their's a chance the maker of that whistle is at Seapara, we'll need a ship to get there." Treya said with a little detest in her tone.

"Hold on, we haven't even gotten out of the forest yet. They could still be lurking around, waiting for the perfect chance to catch us off guard again." Eclair protested.

"They so much as show their faces, I'll rip their hearts out their chests." Treya scoffed.

"Y-you don't need to go that far." Ultear sheepishly chuckled.

"Fine, I'll cut off their arms and legs. Either way, they're DEAD MEAT, next time they try to harm my mate." She sighed in disappointment.

"Damn! No wonder she's got bloody in her name!" Ultear felt a little creeped out, and a little taken aback by her harsh words. Treya would probably make good on those threats. Her beauty was matched only by her skill to kill people. And that made the green haired assassin the most feared killer next to the One Eyed Dragon. Heck, these two were possibly the most feared combo you could ever come across if you were on their bad side.

Away from the group...

"Alright, sit!" Mero directed Natsu to sit against a tree. He sat down and was curious what she was doing. She then took a step back and held her hand at Natsu. She then closed her eyes and concentrated."Awwwwright'! Here goes...Harmonious Wisp."

She spoke the spell. Suddenly, a small light ball appeared in her hand. It sprouted wings, and she slowly made it float toward Natsu. She kept her concentration well, and suddenly the ball of light floated above Natsu's head, then it began circling above him. As it happened, Natsu began lighting up with silver light, and his eye widened. He felt something changing inside him-no, a warm feeling, like his body was weightless and he was floating. He closed his eye and just let the feeling take over. He let out breath, and he felt like all his soreness left his body, and was no longer feeling high strung. In fact, he felt calmer and not as much in pain as he did, over the course of their journey.

"...did it work?" Mero stopped and asked with expectant eyes. Her blue eyes looking into Natsu's for a positive answer. Natsu suddenly smiled proudly.

"Mm. Loud and clear." He replied happily.

"...YEEEEEESSSS! I DID IT!" Mero jumped up with this biggest smile on her face. Joyous feeling was all she felt from Natsu's response. She managed to pull it off in one go. Now Natsu's hearing no longer going to be an issue. "Hahahahahha! I-I can't believe it! Kai'zin really knows his stuff! As expected of a dragon!" She proclaimed "Now we got a healing spell in our arsenal, Natsu!" Mero told him excitedly.

"Yeah, you did great Mero. I owe you one!" He cracked a smirk while thanking her.

"I'm so happy I could just leap for joy!" Mero said on cue, and began celebrating.

"You're already leaping though." Natsu shook his head and smiled even.

Her long twin tails and skirt fluttering in the air as she made a happy expression. "Hehehe~! I may be the size of a half pint, but I can still shine as much as anyone!" Mero stated proudly.

"..." Natsu slowly stopped smiling.

"This is great! Maybe Treya will treat me nicer now...or not try to hit me anymore! Either way, it's great you're back to normal." Sheld her hands behind her back and bent forth.

"..." Natsu just stayed silent. As if he was deep in thought.

"Lets go show every...?" Mero wanted to go let everyone know that Natsu was back to normal, but Natsu didn't budge. "...hey, what's wrong?" She asked worriedly. "D-d-d-did it not work?" Her happiness was about to be deflated if she found out it was only a temporary fix.

"No, I can hear you." Natsu assured her.

"Well, what is it?" Mero asked, giving him her full attention. She had a confused look on her face as she looked up into his eye.

"..." Natsu's face was fixated on Mero, and his eye on her small hand over his.

"...ah, do I have a bug on my head!? I fly so fast I sometimes don't even noticed when I hit one!" She immediately began brushing her raven black, head of any gunk she might have picked up along the way.

"..." Natsu was curious about why he was so fixated on her. It was like she seemed so familiar to him. But he couldn't put his finger on it. He thought for a few more moments, and decided to ask her something.

"Um...Mero?" He asked in a gentle, but serious voice.

"What's up?" She asked with a blank stare.

"...you said you may be a halfpint, but you can still shine, right?" He asked for confirmation.

"Yep." She smiled. "I've lived by those words since I was child. I got them from a friend a while ago, before I met Yoma." She recalled.

"...this uh, friend. Were they living in the village you were from?" He asked, as his heart was beating a little. Depending on how she answered, he felt a glimmer of hope tugging on his heart.

"Mmmm...I think so. Yep, definitely." Mero nodded.

"...Mero?" Natsu suddenly asked.

"Hmmmm~?" Mero was confused with why he seemed a bit...serious. "What's wrong? Did I stutter?" She asked him.

"Your village...w-w-where was it?" He felt a tinge of hopefulness growing inside him.

"In the eastern part of Fiore. Twas' in the mountains, secluded. It was kind of in the middle of nowhere." She sheepishly chuckled while scratching the back of her head. "Kind of a bumpkin feeling I give off, right?" She giggled and scratched the back of her head.

"...at the foot of the mountain, next to the forest." He turned away from her and took a few steps away. "There was a-a church, turned into an orphanage run by an old woman, and her grandaughter. Lots of kids. A little market, a big ol' stump at the entrance to the forest." His eyes were covered.

"..." Mero was silent. But her eyes were slowly getting bigger.

"The uh...uh, villagers lived in log homes, and made clothes and rugs to sell to the city at the bottom of the mountain."

"...?"

"When a child got adopted, a party was thrown, and they'd happily send them off with their new family." His eye went to an emotionless hollow as he recalled the village he was describing.

"...!?"

"...it wasn't much but...it had...it had nice people...and food...and...it had a nice vibe, y'know?" He sighed. Suddenly he felt like Mero grabbed the back of his vest tightly with one hand, as she kept her face hidden behind her black locks of hair. She seemed to be a little shaken up.

"How?...how do you know that?" She asked.

"..."

"I ASKED HOW DO YOU KNOW THAT!?" She suddenly screamed at him in demand. "NO-body...nobody knew anything about that village. Because they are all gone...there was no survivors...and the children...the slavers killed them when tried to escape..so now I'm gonna ask you again...HOW...do..you know about that!?" She clenched the back of his vest harder. "...was it you?" She suddenly asked. "One-Eyed Dragon-no. Natsu Dranigon...did you have ANYTHING to do with that village's demise?" Her eyes were suddenly red instead of blue. Her happy-go-lucky attitude was gone, and replaced with an angry, bitter one. Depending on Natsu's answer, she didn't know what she was gonna do.

"No." Natsu simply answered. "...you deserve to know what happened..." Natsu turned to her with a saddened look. "You don't remember me?" He asked her, she looked up into his gaze with her red eyes, but confusion written on her face. "You look almost the same from back then." He scoffed softly.

"Remember you?" She repeated in a gentle one.

"I was there. You were there." Natsu bent down to her level, and looked up at her. "I was this tall. And you were that tall." He put his hand up to show her the height difference. "Everyone made fun of your height, and complained about you doing less work...don't know why though. You were just small. There was nothing wrong with that." Natsu shook his head. "You always said that you were gonna become big and strong, and show everyone that you were gonna give everything you took, back. " He reminded.

"...Natsu...?" Mero's hatred began dissipating, and her eyes were turning back to their azure color. Slowly putting the puzzle together. At first she misunderstood. She thought he might have had a hand in destroying the village. But after saying those things, she realized that he to was from the village.

And they did know each other.

"You left when you turned five years old. I thought you had gotten your new family." He smiled halfway. "And shortly after you left...the slave traders came, and demanded twice the usual. We couldn't pay it...we couldn't fucking pay it...and they pillaged, burned, raped, kidnapped...it was hell."

"...Nashuuu...?" Mero suddenly broke out in tears. Her inability to say his name properly, due to the sadness she felt.

"I watched it all...and I managed to get away...only losing my eye. And when I found Shy she...she was the one responsible for it...they kidnapped her grandmother...and the only way she could get her back, is if she gave up the village...but they killed her anyway." Natsu sighed once more.

"...(sobs)..."

"And Shy...well...well she couldn't live with it...so she killed herself...and then it was just me." Natsu let loose a stray tear, but quickly wiped it dry. "...I was the last one remaining..." Natsu wrapped up his tale. "I'm the only survivor left...but I'm happy to see I was wrong." He smiled with a saddened look, as he wiped her tears from her face.

"..you..." She mustered the strength to speak properly. "...I remember..." Mero whimpered. "...I never...EVER...would forget you..." She said as she suddenly hugged him. "...I thought you were...I thought...I.. thought..." She sniffled and rested her head near his, embracing with no intention of letting him go. She rubbed her cheek against his and then inhaled his smell some more. "I'm sorry...I should have went back sooner. I should have looked harder...I'm sorry." She cried onto his shoulder. Natsu hugged her back, and felt like he had a miracle happen in front of him.

"You found me, Mero...you found me." Natsu assured her.

"...not good enough." She uttered.

"Eh?" Natsu was confused.

She then suddenly bit her canines into his neck, which surprised him.

"Ack!" Natsu felt a bit of pain, but nothing he wasn't used too. She then sucked his blood profusely. He was shocked from what she suddenly did.

"...Now..." She then pulled back and a smile, and tears was all she showed. "I'll never forget you..." She whispered.

"Mero did you just-!?" Natsu felt where the area she bit onto him.

"I'm sorry...it might have been a little selfish of me. But I'm fine with just being by your side. I wanna be a mate. I wanna be YOUR mate..." She said as her lips curled, trying to hold back a sob.

"...Mero..I.." Natsu frowned.

"I'm fine if you just let me tag along. Just please let me stay with you." She begged.

"Mero...you know what I've become...things I did..."

"THAT'S NOT IMPORTANT TO ME!" She yelled once again while her voice cracked and her tears were streaming down her face. "I DON'T CARE ABOUT THAT! YOU HURT PEOPLE! YOU KILLED PEOPLE! MERO'S NOT AN IDIOT! I KNOW WHAT YOU'VE DONE...just..JUST WANT MY BEST FRIEND BACK!" She leaned her head into his chest and clenched her teeth. "I want..you back..."

"..I'm back..." Natsu answered and held her with on arm.

"Mero?" They suddenly turned to Treya, who was sporting a shocked expression. She saw the fang marks on Natsu's neck. And Mero in tears."...you...marked him?" Treya suddenly narrowed her eyes.

"..Treya?" Natsu was surprised to see her there.

"...(sniffle)." Mero wiped her eyes and turned to face her.

The two locked eyes and a heavy tension was in the air.

"...do you understand what you did?" Treya questioned Mero sternly.

"I do." Mero answer simply.

"Did he return it?" She asked. Mero looked at Natsu for a moment.

"...no." She turned to Treya. "But that's fine. I would want him to decide." She said firmly. "And if he chooses you, or Eclair. That's fine with me." She walked over to Treya and kept eye contact. "Because him being happy and alive is good enough for me." She pointed to Natsu.

"...then that's enough for me." Treya nodded. "However..." She bent down and glared daggers at her. "If you betray him...I will kill you." She declared coldly. "No matter what."

"...I won't." Mero nodded with serious eyes. Natsu got up and tried to see the spot she bit him. "Because now...I like him." She smiled.

"...I don't like to share." Treya pointed out.

"Hmph." Mero walked over to Natsu and suddenly leaped up and and gave him a tender kiss on his cheek. Natsu blushed a little but was more surprised then embarrassed.

"Mero wasn't asking~!" She winked at Treya while feeling the happiest she'd ever been.

FINALLY, an update for this one! My preparations for moving are just about finished! Hope the chapter was good, and I will be seeing you in the next update!

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